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Hey I'm going to be a senior in sept. and was wondering what my chances for out of state admission to UVA are. My SATs are a 1440, plus a 600 on the IIC and a 780 on writing. Gpa is around 3.5 unweighted in the hardest courseload possible, and im in the 90th percentile at my high school (EO Smith in CT). I have letters in 4 sports, play trumpet and piano, have won a few writing awards, am a member of robotics team, drama club, band, nhs, the school paper. looking to major in humanities, sciences, maybe music. your help is duly appreciated!

By Undecided086 (Undecided086) on Friday, July 09, 2004 - 12:03 am: Edit

won't get in sorry

By Irish200 (Irish200) on Friday, July 09, 2004 - 12:13 pm: Edit

u can't just say that, he probably has a pretty good chance

By Duke3d4 (Duke3d4) on Friday, July 09, 2004 - 02:13 pm: Edit

out of state = ivy league = won't get in

By Crazydparent (Crazydparent) on Friday, July 09, 2004 - 04:55 pm: Edit

Chances are slim but not impossible particularly being out of state.
write some great essays,
Also, UVA has a new marching band - You may want to contact them and get more info if you are interested.
Good Luck

By Edwebdev (Edwebdev) on Friday, July 09, 2004 - 07:18 pm: Edit

Hey, thanks a lot for your opinions, undecided, irish, duke, and crazydparent. Yeah, I've heard about the marching band, thanks crazydparent. And kudos to Duke3d4 for his (or her?) consistently harsh and realistic opinions - he (or she?) is all over the place letting people know how it is. That is the way to do it.

By Edwebdev (Edwebdev) on Monday, July 12, 2004 - 01:34 pm: Edit

if anybody else has any opinions, please post them. i would appreciate identification of any specific weaknesses you see in my stats/application info. thanks!

By Uvadad (Uvadad) on Tuesday, July 13, 2004 - 10:13 am: Edit

We are in-state. Both of my daughters applied. Two years ago my older daughter with very similar academic credentials was not accepted. It is much harder to get in from out-of-state and it gets harder every year. I think your chances are slim. My younger daughter with much higher gpa compared to you did get in (ED) and will be attending.

By Miniskus (Miniskus) on Tuesday, July 13, 2004 - 04:14 pm: Edit

but gpa is all relative to the school. you can't compare gpas at all.

By Duke3d4 (Duke3d4) on Tuesday, July 13, 2004 - 09:35 pm: Edit

yes but instate girl barely got in, out of state = very slim.

By Redbeard (Redbeard) on Tuesday, July 13, 2004 - 09:53 pm: Edit

Well, you know your chances go up considerably if you apply to the e-school. You have that robotics club thing going. You didn't give us a breakdown of your grades or scores, but if you could swing an e-school application you move from a low-30% accept rate to above 60%. Gotta like those odds!

By Edwebdev (Edwebdev) on Wednesday, July 14, 2004 - 09:48 am: Edit

well, redbeard, thanks for your advice, but i dont think the e-school thing would work. first off, i think engineering would kill me. second, the admissions officers would see right through that, as my SAT breakdown is 670 M 770 V, my SAT IIs are 600 math IIc, 780 writing, and the only c i ever received was in a sophomore year honors precalc class (which i have since retaken and earned a B+. so thanks a lot (on other boards, the word is that 'you know all'), but im not sure if thats a viable strategy. also, if anyone would like to just run through the weakest points in my record/criticize me (im serious, please criticize) or offer any suggestions, i would greatly appreciate it.

By Aquaholic (Aquaholic) on Wednesday, July 14, 2004 - 06:32 pm: Edit

unfortunately, even if you were to apply engineering, your chances wouldn't improve very much... the selectivity statistics are misleading. in reality, engineering majors are of the same caliber as other uva students, the applicant pool just happens to be smaller.

anyway, some advice - to be honest, your chances are very slim and regardless of your school, your gpa is pretty low. get awesome teacher recs (ask if you can read them before they're sent) empahasizing your best (and most unique) qualities... it looks to me like you're somewhat of a renaissance man with a variety of interests, i'd use that as a selling point ;-)
you're also going to need some excellent essays that really focus on what you could bring that others may not be able to... i'm sure you've heard this a lot, but uniqueness is going to be a huge deal in your app. because uva gets plenty of in-state applicants that resemble you on paper and they don't always get in. remember not to hold back in showing the ad com how much you want to be a wahoo and GOOD LUCK!

By Soulstar (Soulstar) on Wednesday, July 14, 2004 - 06:38 pm: Edit

just out of curiosity why does applying to enineeering improve chance? im an out of stater myself and was considering ed to e-school.

By Blane1086 (Blane1086) on Thursday, July 22, 2004 - 03:04 pm: Edit

Dude I've known some out of staters who got in with sub-1400s, low 700s on SAT II's, and mediocre grades. I'd say you've got a shot.

By Blane1086 (Blane1086) on Thursday, July 22, 2004 - 03:05 pm: Edit

He was a Legacy, though, and had quite a lot of ECs.

By Bttrfly_Slinger (Bttrfly_Slinger) on Thursday, July 22, 2004 - 04:58 pm: Edit

You have a good chance. Your status isn't too bad; though, your personal statement is going to be an important factor since it will show what your standardized test scores and GPA cannot show: your personality and committment. By the way, I wouldn't pay too much attention to these guys on this website if I were you. Most of them don't even go to college yet. You got a good chance. Good luck.

By Jwtullis (Jwtullis) on Sunday, July 25, 2004 - 06:03 pm: Edit

I know a guy with similar stats (1470, same SAT II Writing score; 600-range SAT Math IIc, etc.) who not only got in, but got a Jefferson scholarship. He was our valedictorian, played 3 sports, and had several leadership positions, in addition to being a good writer.

I live in Alabama and, most likely, UVA had had very little people come from our school, so I'm sure that helped somewhat. But I use his scenario to illustrate that it is, in fact, possible to get in with your stats.

By Duke3d4 (Duke3d4) on Monday, July 26, 2004 - 07:06 pm: Edit

Yea you should definetly ignore the 90% of people who get rejected with 3.5's and focus on the 5 people that got in with 3.5's... Right.....

By Duke3d4 (Duke3d4) on Monday, July 26, 2004 - 07:08 pm: Edit

I just reread your post. No duh he was a valedictorian. I bet he was recruitable athlete too. I only saw 2 people with 3.5 or lower get into INSTATE UVA.

One was a URM with legacy. Other was an athlete. This is instate remember... I'm not even done with out of state chances.

By Redbeard (Redbeard) on Monday, July 26, 2004 - 09:44 pm: Edit

Apply. With a mix of the grand and the mundane in your record, there is no telling what the ADCOM will do with it. You will either fall in the category of "deny outright" or "take a long look".
Weaknesses: band/robotics/drama club/4 sports/school paper tells me you have, perhaps, dabbled and not delved. Fix this with your essay. ("It took me a while to find my true love: writing to make others think...")

Is your HS a big UVA feeder school? UVA likes to accept the "only person to apply from there in a long time".

It's a long shot, to be sure. But, you made the right choices. UVA is more likely to take somebody with a 3.5 who took all the hardest courses than somebody with a 4.0 who skipped even one or two AP classes they could have taken.

I disagree that an e-school application is out of the question. And, 33% transfer out of the e-school after 1 year--no shame in that.

But, apply. Take aquaholic's advice: find a niche and run for daylight.

By Bttrfly_Slinger (Bttrfly_Slinger) on Tuesday, July 27, 2004 - 04:26 am: Edit

Wow, this is really amusing; I see lots of people on this website talk about other people's chance whether they will get in or not get in, by only looking at the stats. So, I guess if you have 1600 SAT score with 4.0 GPA, you will definately get into any schools for sure. Right? Oh, by the way, go to the Harvard and Yale forum, there are a few who have been rejected with the darn 1600 SATs and 4.0 GPA. Hey, Duke, you just don't get it, do you? You don't even know who this Edwebdev guy is. You don't know what kind of person he is and what qualities he has. You don't know what he wrote on his essays: How can you even decide if he is in or not without knowing much about him, as if you're the guy who makes the call. Well, you know what? I shouldn't even waste my time here trying to explain what's going on to these close-minded who are only stat-oriented and who believe only 1600 SAT score will get them in to great universities. Let me tell you one thing though. See, the 90% of the people, who you say don't get in, won't get in with any better stats. One more thing: I know a guy who got into Harvard with 1200s SAT score and 3.8 GPA. I don't believe he got into Harvard because of his stats; though, he hell made sure to show his passion for life and education to the Admissions Officers. Of course, if you have really bad stats, that's going to be very tough. It will be very improbable, yet never impossible. Edwebdev, your stats isn't bad enough for you to just give up. Just give a shot.

By Edwebdev (Edwebdev) on Tuesday, July 27, 2004 - 11:09 am: Edit

Hello everyone-

I would just like to take this oppurtunity to really thank you guys (or girls) for offering your advice, thoughts, and opinions on this thread. I really appreciate your ideas and the ability to go onto the internet and read candid appraisals of a scenario that is so rife with uncertainty. I hear UVa is starting a marching band, so I'll emphasize my interest in that (I have already contacted the band) as well as the writing. I'd wish you all peace and long life, but I'll see you again on these boards, so that would be a little silly of me, no?

By Duck (Duck) on Friday, July 30, 2004 - 02:03 am: Edit

Does having a sibling at the university count sort of as legacy?

By Edwebdev (Edwebdev) on Friday, July 30, 2004 - 02:23 pm: Edit

yes, and I think that UVa counts that as 'very important,' as well.

By Pamvanw (Pamvanw) on Friday, July 30, 2004 - 04:02 pm: Edit

"Does having a sibling at the university count sort of as legacy?" I emailed this exact question to the admissions office last year. Their response was "Each candidate stands on their own merit."

By Duke3d4 (Duke3d4) on Wednesday, August 04, 2004 - 01:32 pm: Edit

trfly_Slinger (Bttrfly_Slinger)

I(and most people) decide on what is GIVEN to us. Sure we don't know his essays but that isn't what this is about. He posts what stats he knows, and we judge him on it.

THAT IS HOW THIS FORUM WORKS. idiot...

By Edwebdev (Edwebdev) on Friday, August 06, 2004 - 12:30 pm: Edit

guys, cmon, this isn't something to get your knickers in a twist over.

By Almondeyes (Almondeyes) on Friday, August 06, 2004 - 07:10 pm: Edit

i had a 1440 out of state and got in. echols too

By Montmammoth (Montmammoth) on Wednesday, August 25, 2004 - 03:44 pm: Edit

This thread's pretty stale, but since I've been doing a bit of research on this, I thought I'd give you some encouragement. You actually have a pretty good shot.

Your unweighted GPA is neither a negative nor a positive. It doesn't tell the admissions people much until they compare it to your class rank and SAT scores. When you match those three up, it looks like you've gone to a strong high school, and have done pretty well. (It could also be that you're smart but don't study as hard as you should, but let's go with the strong high school assumption) Top 10% in your class is what's expected at UVA, it's not special, but it gets you over that hurdle.

Your SATs are good, even for OS at UVA. At W & M and UVA, OS SATs are roughly 100 points higher than in state SATs, per the W & M Provost. Dust off your algebra and you'll see that successful OS SATs at UVA are less than 1400. You look good there.

Given no negatives in your high school academic record, better than average OS SATs, and a minor hook with the marching band, I'd say you've got at least as good a chance as any other OS candidate. Do a great essay.

By Edwebdev (Edwebdev) on Sunday, August 29, 2004 - 09:26 pm: Edit

Hey, thanks a lot for your post, montmammoth. I was surprised to see it back at the top, haha.

By Dadx (Dadx) on Sunday, August 29, 2004 - 09:58 pm: Edit

I'd be very careful with the above reasoning re UVa. At our OOS HS, the only two admits were a 1600 and a 1520. There other applicants above 1400 who weren't admitted. Doesn't mean you wouldn't be in with 1350, 1410, or whatever. Just be aware that it is a process with lots of admittees with score below lots of non admittees.

By Minormajor (Minormajor) on Sunday, September 19, 2004 - 08:04 am: Edit

I am IS with a 3.6, 1550 SAT, taking the hardest courses (all honors and AP) and my school (private)is very difficult and hard on anything like a missed homework (and believe me do they hand out the homework) APs are 5s, SATlls 740s, and extracuriculars should satisfy the most hardened AC. Do I have a chance at UVA? or should I look for a private school on the same level?